## APPLICATION FOR APPROV AL OF CONSTRUCTION PIÑON RIDGE TAILINGS FACILITIES

Energy Fuels Resources Corporation Prepared By: 44 Union Boulevard, Suite 600 Lakewood, Colorado 80228

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 8, Indoor Air Program Prepared For: 1595 Wynkoop Street Mail Code: 8P-AR Denver, Colorado 80202-1129



### August 2010i TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section Page 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 2.0 PHASED DISPOSAL .............................................................................................. 1 3.0 PROJECT DETAILS ............................................................................................... 1 3.1 Applicant .............................................................................................................. 2 3.2 Project Location ................................................................................................... 2 3.3 Technical Information .......................................................................................... 2 4.0 MONITORING AND REPORTING ....................................................................... 3 5.0 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 4

FIGURES Figure 1 Site Location Map Figure 2 Site Plan

ATTACHMENTS Attachment 1 Operating Plan, Taili ngs Cells and Evaporation Ponds, Piñon Ridge Mill by Energy Fuels Attachment 2 Uranium Mill Tailings Radon Flux Calculations by Golder Associates Inc. Attachment 3 Tailings Cell Design Re port, Piñon Ridge Project, Montrose County, Colorado by Golder Associates Inc.1 1.0 INTRODUCTION Energy Fuels Resources Corporation (Ener gy Fuels) is submitting this construction application to the U.S. Environmental Prot ection Agency (EPA) in compliance with 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart W for constructi ng and operating the first of three uranium/vanadium tailings disposal cells (Tailings Cell A), each encompassing approximately 30.5 acres. In accordance with 40 CFR Part 61.252(b)(1), the cells would be constructed in a phased manner with no more than two cells or impoundments in operation at any one time. The tailings cells have also been designed to provide equivalent or enhanced protection of groundwater compared to the requir ements outlined in 40 CFR 192.32(a) and equivalent regulations adopted by the Nu clear Regulatory Comm ission (NRC) and the State of Colorado. The Radiation Control Prog ram of CDPHE is curre ntly reviewing the tailings cell plans for compliance with th ese regulations. Because Colorado is an Agreement State with NRC, they are the re sponsible “regulatory agency” as defined under 40 CFR 192.31(g).

2.0 PHASED DISPOSAL The Subpart W regulations curre ntly require that tailings impoundments meet one of the two following work practices. (1) Work Practice 1: Phased disposal in lined tailings impoundme nts that are no more than 40 acres in area and meet the requi rements of 40 CFR 192.32(a) as determined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The owner shall have no more than two impoundments, including existing impoundme nts, in operation at any one time. (2) Work Practice 2: Continuous disposal of tailings such that tailings are dewatered and immediately disposed with no more th an 10 acres uncovered at any one time and operated in accordance with 40 CFR 192.32(a) as determined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Energy Fuels elected to design in accordance with Work Prac tice 1 for phased disposal as it is more economical, less likely to result in liner damage, and provides better control of radon emissions by maintaining the tailings in a saturated state. Work Practice 2 for continuous disposal would necessitate operati ng practices similar to those employed at landfills with large equipment working with in lined areas and unsaturated materials exposed to the elements. However, conti nuous disposal does provide for a quicker transition to cell closure. A lthough continuous disposal has be en used successfully at some mining projects, the phased disposal method using standard tailings impoundments appears to be the best method for this site in terms of mill worker health and safety and protection of the environment.

3.0 PROJECT DETAILS This section of the applica tion addresses the information required in the construction application under 40 CFR 61.07. These informa tional requirements include applicant information, project location, technical de sign and operating information, and emission estimates. The project documents included w ith this application provide detailed2 technical information on the various aspects of the project and should be considered part of the application. The Piñon Ridge Mill Radioactive Material License Application with the CDPHE may also be referenced for additional inform ation on the design, construction, operation, and closure of the mill and tailings facilities. The license application is available at: http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/rad/rml/e nergyfuels/applica tion/index.htm. 3.1 Applicant The construction applicant is Energy Fuels Resources Corporation, a Colorado Corporation. Energy Fuels Resources Corporatio n is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Energy Fuels Inc., a Canadian Corporati on. Energy Fuels Resources Corporation’s headquarters is located at 44 Union B oulevard, Suite 600, Lakewood, Colorado 80228. 3.2 Project Location The proposed Piñon Ridge Mill is situated in Montrose County, Co lorado on an 880-acre private parcel. The Property is located in Pa radox Valley, approximately 12 miles west of Naturita and approximately 7 miles east of Bedrock, along the northeastern edge of Davis Mesa. The site address is 16910 Highway 90, Bedrock, Colorado 81411. More specifically, the Propert y is situated in the southw est quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 5, all of Section 8, the north quarter of Section 17, and southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of Secti on 17 in Township 46 North, Range 17 West of the New Mexico Prime Meridian. Access to th e Project site is via State Highway 90 to milepost 23. Refer to Figure 1, Site Locati on Map, for the general location of the Property, and Figure 2, Site Map, for the Property boundary. Table 1 provides a legal description and geogr aphical centroid coordi nates for each of the tailings impoundments. At th is time, Energy Fuels is reque sting construction approval for Tailings Cell A (i.e., Tailings Impoundments A1 and A2) only.
Table 1 Tailings Impoundment and Evaporation Pond Locations

Feature Legal Description (1) Centroid Coordinates (2) Tailings Impoundment A1 Southeast Qu arter N 38° 14' 59" W 108° 46' 00" Tailings Impoundment A2 South Half N 38° 14' 59" W 108° 46' 10" Tailings Impoundment B South Half N 38° 15' 08" W 108° 46' 05" Tailings Impoundment C All Quarters N 38° 15' 16" W 108° 46' 05" Notes: (1) All locations are in Section 8 of Township 46 North, Range 17 West of the NMPM (2) Geographical coordinates are in NAD83 datum 3.3 Technical Information Technical information requirements for the A pplication for Approval of Construction are outlined in 40 CFR Subpart A 61.07(b)(3) a nd (c)(1), (2), and (3). They include: “describing the proposed nature, size, desi gn, operating design cap acity, and method of3 operation of the source, including a descripti on of any existing source.” Each application shall also include: “(1) The precise nature of the proposed changes; (2) The productive capacity of the source before and after the cha nges are completed; and (3) Calculations of estimates of emissions before and after the changes are completed, in sufficient detail to permit assessment of the validity of the calculations. The Piñon Ridge Mill is a new facility with only natural sources of radiation currently present on site. Soil radon flux levels for the site fluctuat e during the year but average approximately 1.7 ρ Ci/m 2 -s (ERG 2009). Although the application discusses phased tailings disposal over the 40-year projected mill life, this application is limited to constructing and operating Tailings Cell A (30.5 acres) at an average milling rate of 500 tons per day. This cell will have a capacity of approximately 2.45 million tons of tailings. As discussed in the “Uranium Mill Tailings Radon Flux Calculations” report by Golder Associates Inc. (see below), the radon flux fr om the tailings cell is estimated to range between 3 and 8 ρ Ci/m 2 -s during normal operations. The following documents, which are included with this Application for Approval of Construction, provide detailed operating, em issions, and design information, respectively, for the proposed tailings facility. (1) Operating Plan, Tailings Cells and Ev aporation Ponds, Piñon Ridge Mill by Energy Fuels: This plan provides a summary of the design components and a detailed review of operating and monitoring procedures for these facilities. (2) Uranium Mill Tailings Radon Flux Calculations by Golder Associates Inc. (Golder): This report evaluates radon flux from the ta ilings cells over a variety of operating conditions. The results of this m odeling effort were used to develop the Operating Plan. (3) Tailings Cell Design Report, Piñon Ridge Project, Montrose County, Colorado by Golder: This report presents the design for the tailings cells.

4.0 MONITORING AND REPORTING Monitoring and reporting requirements are ou tlined under 40 CFR 61.09. In accordance with this regulation, Energy Fuels will provid e notification of the anticipated date of initial startup of Tailings Cell A not more than 60 days nor less than 30 days prior to the anticipated date. Further, a no tification of the actual date of initial startup for Tailings Cell A will be submitted within 15 days afte r that date. In accordance with 40 CFR 61.256, facilities designated under subpart W are exempt from the source reporting requirements listed in 40 CFR 61.10. Radon flux monitoring is required only for existi ng sources as of the effective date (i.e., December 15, 1989) of the regulation under subpart W in accordance with 40 CFR 61.252(a). This monitoring is not required fo r new tailings impoundments as they are restricted in size by 40 CFR 61.252(b). The size limitations for new tailings impoundments were adopted to restrict poten tial radon emissions to levels that are considered to be protective of human health.4 5.0 REFERENCES Environmental Restoration Group, Inc (ERG ) 2009. Baseline Radiological Investigation Report. Piñon Ridge Uranium Mill. Montrose County, Colorado. October 5. This report may be found in Volume 9 of the Radi oactive Materials License Application on CDPHE’s website.

# U V 141



# U V 90



# U V 90



# U V 141 Nucla Uravan

Bedrock

Naturita 

# 3

1 0 1 2 3 Miles Scale 

### Energy Fuels Resources Corporation

Drawn By Created FIGURE 1

Figure1_082010.mxd See Scale Bar ZTR August 20, 2010 SITE LOCATION MAP 

# ^ ` Moab

Nucla Denver

Montrose

Blanding Telluride Canon City Grand Junction

Colorado Springs 

### Legend

Cities/Towns ProjectBoundaryEVAPORATION PONDS

ORE PAD MILL FACILITY TAILINGS CELL C

TAILINGS CELL B

TAILINGS CELL A Phase 1 Phase 2

A2 A1 N 38° 15' 16" W 108° 46' 05"

N 38° 15' 08" W 108° 46' 05"

N 38° 14' 59" W 108° 46' 10" N 38° 14' 59" W 108° 46' 00" 8 9 7

17 5

16

18 4 6



# U V 90 

# 3

1,000 0 1,000 2,000 Feet Scale 

### Energy Fuels Resources Corporation

Drawn By Created FIGURE 2

Figure2_081910.mxd See Scale Bar ZTR August 25, 2010 SITE PLAN 

### Legend
Project Boundary Site Contour, 10-ft Tailings Impoundment Contour, 10-ft Evaporation Pond Contour, 2-ft Centroid of Feature